Manila declares state of emergency

Financial Times: 

The killing of at least 46 people in the southern Philippine province of Maguindanao on Monday could herald a surge in political violence as powerful clans exact revenge on each other while stepping up the fight for next year’s elections, local residents and analysts warned on Tuesday.

Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the Philippine president, declared a state of emergency in three areas in the south of the country on Tuesday following the worst case of election-related violence in the country’s recent history.

The authorities have so far recovered 46 corpses from a “mass grave” believed to contain the bodies of the victims, according to the ABS-CBN television station.

The military presence in Cotabato city, one of the areas covered by emergency rule and the nearest urban centre to the site of the killings, more than doubled and security forces tried to restrict mobility to prevent members and supporters of two of Mindanao’s most powerful clans from attacking each other.

The local provincial police chief was detained on Tuesday after witnesses saw three of his officers at the scene of the attack two days ago, Reuters reported.

Abusana Maguid may bear “command responsibility” for the actions of his officers, who were also detained, National Police spokesman Leonardo Espina said. “All who are responsible will be made accountable. There will be no sacred cows.”

Many of the people killed on Monday were relatives and supporters of Ismael Mangudadatu, a town vice-mayor who was planning to challenge Andal Ampatuan, the province’s powerful and long-standing governor, in next year’s polls. The dead included Mr Mangudadatu’s wife and sister, as well as a dozen journalists.

Mr Mangudadatu claimed that Ampatuan family members and supporters had been implicated in the deaths by survivors. The Ampatuans promised to co-operate with government investigators, Jesus Dureza, the president’s adviser on the southern Philippines, told ABS-CBN.

A power blackout engulfed Cotabato city in darkness early yesterday evening, according to local reports, adding to tensions in the mainly Christian community, which is surrounded by Muslim-majority provinces.

“People here are going home earlier than usual for fear of being caught in the crossfire in case members of the [Ampatuan and Mangudadatu] clans chance on each other,” said a Catholic priest in the city.

The priest, who asked not to be named, said many city residents feared the eruption of rido – or revenge killings – between members of the two extended families, who used to be political allies but are now vying for leadership of Maguindanao province in next year’s polls.

“Many of those killed were women, including the wife of vice-mayor Mangudadatu, making the situation particularly prone to rido,” said the priest.

One political analyst said the killings in Maguindanao could portend an upsurge in violence ahead of the May 2010 polls as conflicts broke out and intensified among local leaders who used to work together under Mrs Arroyo’s ruling Lakas-Kampi party.

Posted via email from Jim Nichols